The Sacramento Kings take on the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona for the two teams' opening game in the 2016-2017 NBA Season.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 10:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Sacramento last made the playoffs a decade ago and it seems like the players and fans are both running out of patience with the club. Rudy Gay has been vocal all summer about the Kings' current situation and that he wants out of it soonest while franchise player DeMarcus Cousins is rumored to be sick and tired of leading the squad and could reportedly ditch the squad when his contract expires in 2018.
Rajon Rondo and Marco Belinelli moved out during the summer and Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson came in as replacements, which does not significantly alter anything about the squad. However, Fansided indicated that Afflalo is a better fit to Cousins than Rondo and Belinelli.
The backcourt is currently as dysfunctional as the whole team as Ben McLemore hopes to improve on his mercurial performance last season. Starting point guard Darren Collison is suspended for the first eight games of the season due to a domestic violence issue, which leaves the orchestrating duties in the hands of Lawson, the only other legitimate point guard in their current roster.
New head coach Dave Joerger will try to give the Kings new life and a fresher approach, but he seems to be lacking in pieces to finally make the team qualify to the playoffs in June.
Meanwhile, the Suns are looking forward to an injury-free season for main man Eric Bledsoe and the continued development of incoming sophomore Devin Booker. The team is a little heavy in the backcourt with Brandon Knight getting demoted to a bench role by head coach Earl Watson as the franchise are beginning to give Booker the chance to be its future superstar.
This is the first full season for Watson as the official head coach of the squad after acting as interim since Jeff Hornacek was fired in February.
Phoenix selected two big men, Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss, in last June's draft to somehow balance their roster, but it will take a few more years before the two rookies become key players in the squad, as per the league's official website.
Prediction
Despite the Kings' worse review, they are predicted to win this game against the Suns. Cousins is the best player in the two teams' roster and it will count for something when the game is on the line.
